Reso-what?

Yeah, yeah. New Year, time for resolutions. Blah blah blah. I've never really been one for resolutions - I'm much more likely to stick to an unofficial resolution than an official "woohoo it's a new calendar year and everyone else is making resolutions" type of resolution.

But this year I have something I need to get done. So I guess it can be a resolution. Sure. We'll call it that.

My resolution: to finish this blasted thesis.

That's it. That's my main goal for 2009. Go me.

Epic holiday drive

We're back from our holiday journey to the frozen north. It was fun to see family, but I am so glad to be off the roads.

Day 1 of our adventure: part of I-84 was closed. We decided to backtrack when the FedEx trucks were turning around. Lost a couple hours, but made it around the blocked area. Tried to help a guy get back on the road (too stuck - trooper called a tow truck). At least we got some snow-driving karma points. Drove on nasty, icy crap roads but made it to Boise.

Day 2: driving through Eastern Oregon. Hit a shady slippery patch on a downhill slope and spun/slid off the road. Used those karma points. Some nice guys stopped and helped us dig a path back to the road, one using a cooler lid as a shovel. Made it back on the road, and the rest of the drive to SE WA was relatively uneventful.

Time with my paternal grandparents: they loved seeing Doodle. She played, jumped, danced, and made great-grandma's antique glass reindeer nurse ("have mama milk" she said) on the mama reindeer. So cute.

Drive to my mom's: horrid. We left Xmas Eve, around 8:45pm. Slid off the road once, similar scenario to previous time. Got back on road easily. Now out of karma points. Kept driving in slick conditions. Nearly got runover by a speeding minivan, narrowly missing being rear ended by moving into the left lane. Pulled over at rest stop, chained up. Did you know that you can only go ~25 MPH with chains? And that, in doing so, it takes AN HOUR to go frickin' 25 miles?!?! Egad, that took forever. Rolled into Spo-town very late, where there was lots and lots AND LOTS of snow. Drove slowly through town, made it to mom's house by 3:45 am. Merry Christma...zzzzzz.

Christmas day: my sis flew in, only a few hours delayed. Hung out, played, had fun. Got a kick ass knitted purse from my sissy complete with snazzy quarter buttons. I *heart* it. That and my new tiger box (oh, don't worry...I'll post pics) made for a quirky, eclectic MamaBee Christmas. Doodle loved her photo book, J got his very first climbing nut... it was good. Ate lots of turkey, gravy and rice dressing. Yum.

Day after Xmas: Obligatory visit to maternal Grandma, where she gave Doodle a window-clingy stuffed animal with a tag identifying it's production date as 1990. Do other peoples' grandparents keep stuff like this around for 18 years? Followed this visit with a trip to the climbing gym. Doodle played on crashpads with Uncle T while J belayed my mom and sissy. Fun times had by all... though I do miss being able to climb with everyone. Maybe next year.

Following day: dug out the house. Massive roofalanches (snow falling off steep metal roof in large sheets) resulted in some damage to deck railing. J and my bro T dug out the deck while my mom got the snowplow stuck and unstuck plowing the driveway. Yes, my mom has to plow her driveway. Ugh. The snow was ridiculous. I dug out the mailbox area while Doodle was napping. At least we got to enjoy the hot tub.

The next day we were back on the road, this time via MT and ID. One good mountain pass and one nasty pass, plus a bunch further into Montana. Managed to psych myself out with dark and blowing snow while driving, so we stopped short of Butte for the night. Kept driving the next morning and it was pretty good. A stretch of road to Butte was slick, and just past the MT-ID border it turned to nasty blowing ugly snow. Gross. Made it past that, and the rest of the way home was great. We got home at a reasonable hour. No more snow driving karma points acquired nor required. Now completely sick of winter driving. Is it spring yet?

We were glad to spend time with family, introducing Doodle to my Uncles and hanging out with my loved ones. Hopefully, though, that'll be our last major winter trek driving all the way up north. Next time we have the holidays up there, we're flying.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy holidays!

We're gearing up for holiday celebrations up north this year. Presents are wrapped (mostly), the house will be clean (eventually), and snow is falling (hopefully only a little for the drive).

Here's wishing you and yours a happy, festive holiday season full of love and joy.

Peace,
Mama Bee, J and Doodle.

Crazy chicken lady

I worry that these stints of chicken-sitting for J's advisor are going to turn me, slowly but surely, into a crazy chicken lady. That I'll wake up at age 63 with 20+ chickens, all named. That this urge I have to pick them up and pet their fluffy feathers while they make tentative "brrruuuuuck" sounds is not normal. Is it?

Please, friends. Let me know if I need a chicken intervention before it's too late and our kitchen is all done up in chicken motif.

Twelve days of Christmas

As I sit holed up at J's advisor's house working on my thesis, I realize I'm not in a very Christmas-y mood. I've been thinking nonstop about flowers, bees and pollination, all of which are great but not really wintery, Yule-type subjects. We're past Doodle's birthday, and in the homestretch to Christmas. I need to get in the mood!

John Denver and the Muppets to the rescue!



Ever since I can remember, John Denver and the Muppets has been a Christmas staple. My mom plays the record every year (I have it on cd, but she sticks with the vintage crackles of vinyl) before Christmas. Nothing gets me more in the holiday spirit than this album. (I should add that I'd never seen video of John Denver and the Muppets singing Christmas songs until now - YouTube is awesome.)

Hope you enjoy this little slice of Christmas-y fun. If you need me, I'll be humming the JD&Muppets version of Jingle Bell Rock while writing about bees and flowers and such.

Sleeping alone

Four hours of sleep, now back to the writing. Funny, I sleep much better with a toddler and lover to snuggle with - last night I slept like crap without them.

No word yet on how the night went for them. Hopefully it wasn't too late of a bedtime.

One down!

I just emailed a good, solid draft of a major thesis chapter to my advisor. I feel good about it. One more data chapter to go, plus intro and summary chapters.

I'll wait until I hear back from The Advisor before declaring victory, but I'm on my way and much closer than I was.

(In other news, J and Doodle are having their first night without me since Doodle's birth. Hopefully they can get some sleep tonight.)

Fun at the (advisor's) Cabin

View of the winter wonderland outside J's advisor's cabin.

I love these two.

X-Files nerd from way back, as shown through PlayDoh.

"Enough with the pictures, Mom!" (cute sweater by Doodle's Knitty Grandma)

birthday girl

She's saying how old she is here.

Yummy carrot birthday cake, plus wings? The perfect birthday combination.

Final exam answers

Last week I graded the essay questions on the HumanPhys finals. I found a couple of responses really funny, and wanted to share.

A prompt looking for the answers of "prostate gland" and "trans-urethral resection of the prostate" got this response from one student (note the term for removal):
"Prostate gland produces much seminal fluid & the removal of it is called prosthesis."
Oh. So when someone tells me about their grandma's prosthesis... whoa. Never mind.

A question about the most effective form of male contraception (answer: vasectomy) got these responses from students:
"Castration by removing the testicles is most effective."
Well, yes, but there are less drastic measures.

AND

"The _most_ effective contraception is Abstinence from intercourse. This is done by never engaging the male reproductive system in any way."
In any way? At all? What does it really mean to "engage" the reproductive system anyhow?

Next semester I'm back to GenBio, so I'm sure to have some fun anecdotes to share from my young, naïve, unhappy-to-be-there students in the months to come.

BDay celebrations

We had a great, fun-filled Doodle's Second Birthday today.

We awoke to snow, and lots of it. We are chicken-sitting for J's advisor up at The Cabin north of town and kinda in the boonies. It's peaceful, quiet, and gorgeous. Oh, and it gets a lot more snow than down further in the valley. So we played inside this morning, enjoying Doodle's new tea set and play food. Then we packed up and rolled into town where we did some mad-dash cleaning and decorating before The Party. Streamers and balloons were deployed, and the house was looking downright birthdayish (it's important with a December birthday to make sure this special day doesn't get lost in the pre-Xmas stuff. Daktari, the holder of the SoIL December Birthdays Suck party taught me this.).

Friends big and small arrived bearing gifts of music, books and eggnog (homemade!). I have a new-found appreciation for eggnog. Mmmm, fatty goodness! We ate burgers and cake, played with balloons and tea sets, and chatted. We ate too much, drank too much eggnog, and partied until the toddlers were exhausted. It was great.

Post-party we piled up the dishes, grabbed fresh clothes, and hit the road back out to The Cabin. The storm was letting up but we wanted to hit the snowy roads in daylight in case we needed to chain up to get to The Cabin. Main Street was icy and very slow, and Doodle was asleep before we even made it out of town - guess we really wore her out with The Party. Some sliding at a couple of stoplights plus a slower-than-usual drive, but we made it out to the cabin just fine. The snow was deep on the driveway but Elmo the Jeep just plugged along and made it up with no problems. Later one of the Advisor's neighbors came by to plow the driveway with his tractor. Very nice.

Now Doodle is playing with her new Playdoh, cookie cutters and rolling pin on the floor while J and I relax. We'll probably read a bunch of books, play tea party and go to bed early. Definitely a great way to celebrate the two year anniversary of Doodle's birth.

Tomorrow: sledding on the hill behind The Cabin, the first use of skis and snowshoes this season, and maybe an epic snowman. We shall see.

Two years ago...

...I was immensely pregnant. I had taken my only final exam the day before. My mom and brother were coming to town in anticipation of The Birth. We figured they would be here for a while, killing time and watching me for any indication of an emerging baby.

Two years ago today J and I went to SLC to pick up my mom and brother, then ran a bunch of errands while in the big city. We returned to Logan around 6pm, made dinner, played with our snake, I made my birth necklace and we went to bed around 11:30pm.

A couple hours later I was in labor.

Tomorrow Miss Doodle turns two years old. Man, what a ride it has been.

perfectionisting

It is important to remember: You must have something to start with before you can improve on it.

This is a reminder to myself as I continue choreographing my first all-by-myself choreographed duet, and as I start the Great Thesis-Writing Spree of '08.

Pumpkin pie

Last night we were puttering around after watching a cheesy movie (the Great Race, in case you're wondering). We asked Doodle what she wanted to do. She replied, "pie!" We asked what kind, and she replied, "punkupunkum" which we interpreted to mean pumpkin. J and I both agreed that a pie sounded delicious, so we dashed to the kitchen and started throwing things together. Twenty minutes later we had a fully-assembled pie. Hooray for teamwork! Pie completed (and a couple slices eaten) before bedtime. We rock.

The pie was delicious. So why do I feel bad that, as of noon today, the pie is gone?

Photos from turkey day

Or rather, photos of Doodle on turkey day. Her Granddad takes a lot of photos and these are some of my faves.

Making cute faces at Granddad.


Playing with Hailey the dog.


Cuddling with Granddad.


Making silly faces with Uncle G.


Gently adoring her little cousin...


...well, mostly gently.


Being tossed by Uncle G.


Learning the freedom a doggy door allows.

Photos from Joshua Tree

A Joshua Tree after the rains. The whole desert was so vibrant with color that morning.

Leave it to Doodle to find a desert puddle to splash in.

Doodle was thrilled with this sunset, and kept talking about the pink sky.

My loves, hanging out on the rocks.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

We're back. The trip went well. We're tired, the house is a mess and none of us are ready to get back to the grind...but we're here at least.

We made home (finally) at ~8:30 last night. We had initially planned on returning Saturday but the temptation of a Chinese dinner cooked by J's dad was too much, so we stayed in SoCal until Saturday morning. We then drove approx. half way to Cedar Pockets campground in the Virgin River area to camp, finishing our drive on Sunday with another six hours on the road plus stops for food (and REI).

Things I learned on this trip:

• I really dislike smoke-filled casinos in Nevada.
• I still have no urge to try my hand at gambling.
• Doodle loves hot tubs, and really has fun with the family members playing therein.
• It's bad to wake the napping toddler to try and take wedding family photos.
• Doodle is still wary of family members who do not consider her personal space.
  
• Joshua trees are really dang cool.
• The desert smells amazing during and after a rain.
• Doodle loves climbing on rocks.
• Doodle gets really excited about things like birds, lichens and puddles. Yay!
  
• It takes Doodle a much shorter time to warm up to people than it used to. I like this.
• Doodle loves Grandma S's cookies, and will pitch royal fits in attempts to get them.
• It's really fun to go to the big Asian Supermarket. It was a cultural experience.
• Jack fruit are really big and pretty expensive, and I have no idea what they taste like (seen at the above market).
  
• Doodle loves babies, and really enjoyed hugging and interacting with her little cousin.
• Doodle can cut a tooth (a canine at that!) without being overwhelmingly fussy for days on end!
  
• If you promise a toddler a burger and she rejects any offer of said burger in the restaurant, be prepared for a royal hissy fit when you get back to the car and there is no burger in sight.
  
• An iPod with videos is a must-have for long drives with a toddler.
• I enjoy traveling with my family, but home is nice too.

Photos will follow when I manage to find the camera and the time.

Joshua Tree

Anyone been to Joshua Tree National Park? If so, do you have any must-see suggestions for us?

Update on the dress saga

The dress issue has been resolved. Turns out I had a dress all along!

I was whining about finding a dress, hating shopping, etc. when J asked me to show him the dresses that I have. I started pulling things out of the closet, and found a pretty red dress that I bought at a consignment shop a couple of years ago (anticipating the red dress party, which I've never attended) and have never worn. I had dismissed this dress as an option as it is BRIGHT RED, a color I rarely wear. J asked me to try it on. I obliged. It's cute. It is actually cuter on me now than when I bought it. AND the top is breastfeeding-friendly. Did I mention it's cute?

That settled it. I'm wearing the red dress. But shoes? Accessories?

Found a pair of shiny black ballet flats at the store for more than 50% off, meeting my cheapskatey needs. I made a necklace and pair of earrings from beads I already had in my bead stash, probably totaling $6 with all the materials. Woohoo!

J is currently out shopping for a red tie that will look good with my dress without making him look like an MP (Member of Parliament - a Brit or Canadian politician). Besides, he could probably use a new tie anyhow.

Wardrobe issues solved. Now we just need to bake, clean and pack for the wedding followed by camping and climbing followed by Thanksgiving festivities. Hooray!

March for Equality

Follow up: The march was great! It was peaceful and had good attendance. Lots of honks and thumbs-ups from people driving by helped to make it feel like a good, positive gathering. The only counter-protesters were a pair of guys on skateboards holding up signs on paper plates and chanting "dicks are for chicks!" The HJ covered the march here.




This Saturday, Nov. 15th there will be a March for Equality here in Logan. This is part of the Join The Impact movement to promote love and equality in cities around the U.S. The event starts at 11:30am Mountain Time in front of Logan City Hall (255 N. Main). Bring peaceful, non-hurtful signs. Feel free to bring loved ones, friends, kids, etc. to raise awareness of support and love for all people and all families here in Cache Valley. For more info check the Join the Impact link above, or the event on Facebook here. We hope to see you there!

Sling giveaway!

My friend Kim (PrairieMama) makes awesome ring slings for babywearing. Over at TipJunkie they are giving away one of her oh-so-awesome slings FOR FREE!!! Get over there today to sign up for the chance to win (or don't, since I'd really like to win it). Or click the link below to check out Prairie Mama and lots of other Mom-preneurs' wares.

If you knit...

...would you like to receive a knitting needle case like this for Christmas? Would it be useful? Just trying to narrow down gift ideas and looking for feedback from knitters. Thanks!

Dress shopping hell

In case you were wondering, I hate dress shopping. This is not a regular activity for me, as I rarely have occasion to wear dresses (other than hippie dresses that I can wear while chasing Doodle or riding my bike). The occasion prompting my latest dress hunt? My mother-in-law's wedding, which is occurring a week from Saturday. I have eight days to find a dress before we leave for the wedding destination. AAAAAAH!

This is why I'm struggling:
1) I'm a cheapskate. I hate the idea of spending $80+ on some crappily-assembled chiffon and sequin ugliness that I'll only wear once or twice.
2) Our local thrift stores are not helping me AT ALL. They offer lots of kindergarten-teacher-from-the-90's garb or the occasional size zero summer dress. Not much else.
3) I hate shopping, especially when those stupid dressing room mirrors make me realize how much my body has changed in the past few years and how my boob perkiness level will never be quite the same.
4) Have I mentioned my high standards mixed with cheapskateness? This is really not working well for me. *le sigh*

Any suggestions? I've tried Kohls - found one dress that was kinda meh. Haven't tried Dillards or Penney's yet. Those are the only other department stores we have. I guess I can look at the little mall shops. I really don't want to go into one of the Women's Boutiques downtown, as they specialize in outfitting the age 50+ ladies in the community and I'm really not shooting for the Relief Society President look (no offense, ladies, but you know what I mean).

Any ideas for even a style of dress to shoot for? The wedding is at 2pm on a casino riverboat in Nevada. Mother of the bride says we should dress nice, probably no pants for me. Added complication: Doodle is still breastfeeding on occasion. So ideally it wouldn't be something that I have to unzip or completely disrobe in order to nurse her. A skirt could work, but I need a nice top then too. Don't want anything with too busy of a pattern, as we'll probably be in some pics. Solid colors ask for Doodle to smear food on them, which stands out badly. GAH!

Any advice would be awesome. (Oh, and if you include footwear advice with your dress advice you get double the virtual hugs/cookies).

Thanks!

International Babywearing Week!

Today marks the start of International Babywearing Week. In honor of this week, here are some pics of J and I wearing Doodle.

Doodle five days old, and being worn in the big wide world.

Wearing her in a wrap was the easiest way for me to eat dinner when she was itty-bitty. As you can see, she didn't mind.

My favorite J-wearing-Doodle picture. We were hiking this slot canyon, Doodle sound asleep against her Papa's chest in the wrap. I just love the little foot peeking out.

As you can see, we've worn her on hikes all over the place. Now that she's fully bipedal and being Little Miss Independent we wear her more on our backs in the Mei Tai or backpack, or we just take very slow hikes with her in the lead.

Happy with her Papa. I love these two.

I had to show off this cool traditional baby carrier from China. A friend sent it to us. It is hand-embroidered and beautiful. Near as I can tell it is a Podaegi-style carrier (I think). We haven't used it much but it is really pretty and fun to pull out now and then.

Us this summer on a hike above Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park. This Sherpani Rumba baby backpack is great for long hikes. We can pack food, water and diapers in the pockets and away we go.
This photo and the first one above show Doodle in our BabyHawk Mei Tai. We *love* this carrier lately - I just put her on my back, tie it on, and away we go.

Want to know more about babywearing? TheBabyWearer has a lot of really great info on babywearing, different styles of carriers... pretty much whatever you need to know. My friend PrairieMama has a post about babywearing this week, and will be posting another one over at The Bee in your Bonnet soon. PrairieMama also makes custom ring slings, available over at her Etsy shop.

Finally, who doesn't like a contest? Adventures in Babywearing is running a contest to give away two Nonny and Boo carriers. Go check it out!

Family photos

I have mentioned our Awesome Photographer Neighbor here previously. Last fall she did a family photo shoot for us which turned out great. We asked her to take our family photos again this year, this time heading up to Tony Grove to get more of a wintery scene. They turned out GREAT. Take a look (click on the photos to enlarge).

Thanks, Lindsey!

Sweet Peas closing

Sad news, fellow Loganites: Sweet Peas Market is closing. Their last day will be Nov. 22nd, when they will have a big sale on whatever is left (groceries + equipment). They're also having a Benefit Estate Sale at their house, as they have to downsize for their move back to Texas. The sale is this Saturday, Nov. 15th from 10am-5pm at 120 Water St. in Logan. They have tons of girls' clothes, toys, ceramics, new skiis, etc. Please come support Patrice and her family at the store and at their yard sale - they've been so great and we're very sad to see them go!

Cuteness

In lieu of a post of any substance, I bring you pictures of Her Cuteness, Miss Doodle.

Flying with Uncle T. The arms behind the back increase lift and velocity...

What do you give a toddler for Halloween when you don't want them consuming lots of high-fructose corn syrup and other icky things in commercial candy? Why, a small bowl with powdered Drinking Chocolate, of course! Only the best for our Doodle.

See? It's so good she wants to share it with you!

Frustrated

Still ruminating, thinking about a post I need to make. How does one convey that they were hurt by a group's actions without hurting friends who belong to that group?

Mostly a really good day

The pros:
- Woke up to NPR talking about President Obama. Big sigh of relief. I feel like huge looming cloud has lifted, and I'm thinking positive happy thoughts about the future of our nation.

- Had a good, encouraging talk with my awesome academic advisor (not the advisor who causes me all sorts of distress). I feel refreshed and reinvigorated. I should really talk to him more often.

The cons:
- Still not knowing the results of California's Prop. 8, though it's looking bad. I have a big long post in mind for the near future regarding the role out-of-state religious groups played in the Pro-8 campaign, and how it hurts my heart to think about. But I can't do it right now.

- Local democratic candidates lost abysmally. This made the rally last night bittersweet - we won the presidential race, but lost all the local ones despite our hard work. Makes me feel like maybe it's futile to try and change anything in Utah.

I'm so glad Election Day is done, but still feeling the push to make a difference. I wonder if others feel the same. I hope so.

Civic duty complete

My accomplishments:
- I voted last week.
- I watched one friend's son while she voted (hooray, someone took me up on my offer!).
- I helped J get up really freakin' early this morning to go work our polling precinct.
- I brought J and all of his fellow poll workers freshly baked maple sugar cinnamon cookies. They *loved* them.
- In delivering said cookies I got a new "I voted" sticker for Doodle whom I then proceeded to photograph wearing the sticker (see my new profile pic).

I feel like this Election Day is going well. We won't have swim class tonight (cancelled, dangit!) but we'll hang out listening to the radio until J is done working. Then it's off to an Election Party for a while before turning in for the night with visions of a better tomorrow dancing in our heads.

Wishing you all a good and happy Election Day!

Today's the day...

Have you voted? No seriously. Have you?

If you haven't, I'm home all day. I can watch your kid(s), do some baking for your election party...whatever it is that's weighing on your mind and keeping you from going to the polls. You really have no excuse now.

This is really important. Please go vote.

Thank you.

Politic-related Anxiety

I may end up biting off all of my fingernails before tomorrow night is over. Why do I always get so emotionally invested in politics?

*thinking happy thoughts*

Please vote.

Goings on

1. Earlier this week Doodle asked me to write her name. I asked her what letter came first. She told me. I asked her what was next. Again, she new. This continued, and she was able to spell out her name for me! I'm beginning to think our little 22-month-old is a bit precocious!

2. I come from a stock of sturdy women. My 82 year old grandma is doing well after having surgery on one carotid artery followed by a frickin' triple-bypass in the same week two weeks ago. AND she is no longer smoking (keeping fingers crossed that it will last) after smoking for 70 years. Proof that she's back to herself? She was telling off the nurses in the hospital and being sassy with everyone. She has also started telling people that she just up and quit smoking cold turkey a month before her surgery (which is total bull. But that's grandma - she stretches the truth a bit).

3. More Doodle news: she's on a naked-butt kick. She doesn't want to wear diapers, so we let her run around naked. So far she has only accidentally peed on the floor twice - the rest of the time she has told us she needs to go potty, or just sat herself down on her little potty and gone. Wait, does this mean we've entered the land of potty-learning?

Sad goodbye

Our family has lost someone very dear to us. She was J's best friend his whole life.


Rest in peace Jessica. The world has lost a gentle, wonderful person far too soon.

Early voting, and an incentive

Alright all you Cache Valley readers, pay attention. Early voting is available this week in four convenient locations. All the info is below. There is talk that voter turnout will be huge this year, so beat the lines on Nov. 4th by voting early. Added incentive for my local friends: if you want to vote early, bring your kids over to my place. I'll watch them while you go vote. Give me maybe a half-hour advanced notice, but seriously. I want you to vote. I want to enable you to vote. Plus I like your kids. So bring 'em on over. Now you have no excuse to not vote. Check out the times and locations for early voting below, then let me know when you'll be stopping by. Happy Voting!

(to those without kids: I can watch pets or do grading too! I'm no help on the molecular-related lab work, but I can keep an eye out for cool birds in my backyard while you're busy voting if it'll make you feel better.)

Early Voting Locations and Times
Cache County Admin. Building
179 N. Main, First Floor, Logan, Utah
• Mon., Oct. 27 – Thurs., Oct. 30
8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Fri., Oct. 31
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Utah State University
TSC, Juniper Lounge (second floor by east entrance), Logan, Utah
• Mon., Oct. 27 – Thurs., Oct. 30
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Hyrum City Office
83 West Main, Hyrum, Utah
• Mon., Oct. 27 – Thurs. Oct. 30
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Smithfield Fire Station
325 W 100 N., Smithfield, Utah
• Mon., Oct. 27 – Thurs., Oct. 30
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Needed something to make me chuckle...

from xkcd.com

Done with political ranting

Y'know what? I'm done. The political craziness has hit fever-pitch. Everywhere you turn political talk is in your face. So I'm putting political talk on hold until Nov. 4th. Then I'll remind you to vote, and may have something to say post-Election Day. But until then, no politics from me.

They said it better

I watched and listened to (and re-watched on Youtube) the final presidential debate last week. I am still furious with McCain about the air quotes he put on a mother's "health" and how dismissive he was of female reproductive health, choice and freedoms. Here's a link to the clip on Youtube - the air quotes are close to the end. Two women explained their frustration with this same issue much more eloquently than I can; see what they said HERE and HERE. I implore you, think about the health and futures of our sisters, daughters, nieces and granddaughters. Then go vote.

Why I don't celebrate Columbus Day

Today, the second Monday in October, is Columbus Day. It's a federal holiday. But I don't celebrate it.

Why, you ask? Because I don't feel that the conquest and exploitation of the native peoples of the Americas should be celebrated. Because I think celebrating the "discovery" (since the people who were already here didn't discover it) of "America" (really an island in the Caribbean) by some guy is really not that monumental. Because it's racist and blatantly assumes European superiority over native Americans.

Educate yourself about Christopher Columbus and the real story of his voyage. Read "American Holocaust" by David E. Stannard. It's a real eye-opener. I have a copy if you'd like to borrow it. Take a look at these editorials from today's NYTimes and USAToday. Read the wiki page on Columbus Day. Then think about this day and what it means to you. Is it important to celebrate the "discovery" of "America" today?

I will take today to mourn the genocide of native peoples in the name of conquest and gold. Maybe someday, if enough people are made aware of the real history of the American conquest, this day will no longer be a celebration of European superiority. Someday, hopefully, it will be a day of reparation.

Simple joy

National Coming Out Day

Saturday, Oct. 11th, 2008 is National Coming Out Day. USU is having Coming Out celebration and activities today on the TSC patio. As an Ally, I encourage everyone who can to go support our GLBTQQI2SA campus community. Want to know how to be supportive of GLBT individuals in everyday life? Check out this list.

Polls

Here's an awesome link for anyone else who's compulsively checking the poll results on the Presidential race: RealClearPolitics. They compile poll results from many different pollsters. Cool stuff.

New favorite thing

Doodle's new favorite thing to do: make scary faces. This is her scary face.


Fierce, eh? She will instruct you how to make a scary face by saying "pink" which means pinkie. You must stick your pinkie fingers in your mouth and grimace right then. Papa follows directions well.


Not only does she have a mean scary face, she's got great fashion sense. Watch for this look on Paris runways in 2010.